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Candi McArthur (Cataclysmic Gerosha)
This article is under repair. The following is about the Earth-G7 version of Ciem. For earlier versions, see Ciem (disambiguation). }} Candice Marie McArthur (neé Flippo-Levens) / Ciem is a superheroine in the series Sodality as well as the Origins and Fallout stories Ciem: Inferno and Sniperbadger: Fall of the Critter Resistance. She is a founding member of the Sodality of Gerosha. Candi is one of several incarnations of Ciem throughout the Gerosha multiverse, this one in particular being part of the continuity known as Cataclysmic Gerosha. Cataclysmic Candi is part of a group of freedom fighters that have escaped tyranny in Ameristan, later defending the nation of Toklisana from the notorious Hebbleskin Gang and later, the Society of the Icy Finger. In spite training from early on to be a hero, she has frequently had misunderstandings with the law. She has also faced harassment repeatedly by corrupt law enforcement, as well as her half-brother Darius. This has led to her also having an extensive "criminal" record - which complicates her life further. She has been portrayed by a few DeviantArt models, most notably Lee Loo La. Powers, accessories, and weaknesses Powers Most of Candi's abilities as Ciem pertain in some fashion to her centipede-like physiology, subverted only in the fact that she still has (mostly) human anatomy. * Centuition: Limited precognition as well as ability to stalk prey for a limited range even without immediate eyesight. Similar to spider-sense. She dodges bullets after hearing a "phantom scream" sensation that lets her know exactly which direction a bullet is coming from. She can also sense recent sexual activity in others. * Accelerated healing: At the cost of some of her stamina, Candi can regenerate tissue quickly, depending on the severity of injury. When she takes Remotach pills, this extends to the ability to reattach limbs - or even her own head - for a limited time (usually 30 minutes.) Less-serious wounds, however, tend to take longer to heal, depending on the location and type of wound. However, she can heal from most injuries in a day and a half tops. * Enhanced speed, strength, endurance, metabolism, jumping, and agility: She can dodge most attacks, run fast enough long enough to keep up with a car going 25 MPH for 3 minutes, can lift a single-seat smart car with some effort, and last up to two hours in a fight without backup or breaks in action. She is also very prone to staying fit and active, and can eat normal amounts of food for someone her size and weight without much fear of gaining weight. She is also able to return to a healthy, athletic weight very quickly after completing a term of pregnancy. She weighs 122 pounds, but can push or lift nearly half a ton out of her way if she needs to. At 5'4", she's not very tall. She has a BMI of about 20.6, making her most similar in BMI to Marvel's Black Widow in spite being three inches shorterHealey, Karen, M.A. "Comparative Sex-Specific Body Mass Index in the Marvel Universe and the Real World." KarenHealey.com. University of Canterbury-New Zealand. With help from: Johnson, Terry D., M.S. Department of Bioengineering at University of California - Berkely..† She can jump a full story at a time if she needs to, but is outclassed by Jackrabbit's ability to jump 2-1/2 stories in one bound and Meerkat's ability to jump tall skyscrapers. * Constriction: Candi can wrap herself around most human enemies and cut off their breathing, similarly to how a centipede can wrap its body around prey. * Centilegs: Short stingers that protrude from her upper wrists, shoulders, hips, thighs, and lower calves. They contain a venom that is comparable to bee or hornet venom, which can incapacitate someone. Enough stings can cause temporary paralysis, making it easier for her to subdue adversaries. Accessories Courtesy of her godfather Imaki, Candi has a variety of tools in her Ciem arsenal as well. However, some of the equipment consists of variations on Zeran technology that SCALLOP scientists had in their possession, and wished to keep a secret from local law enforcement in Gerosha. Candi's inability to keep some of this stuff a secret forever gets her into considerable trouble. * Dart shooters: These glorified "staple guns" contain numerous staples which can be fired at enemies, allowing for limited capabilities for ranged combat. The staples are marinated in a solution that mimics the chemistry of Candi's centileg venom. They allow her to remain hidden in shadows for longer. A regular-size wrist packet of dart shooters gives her 250 staples per wrist, whereas a large pack can carry up to 500 staples but at the expense of costing her the ability to keep their location discreet. * Zeran wardrobes: Quantum storage packages that enable her to store and change clothes quickly. They are modeled after the Zeran technology that was first developed by the Marlquaanite Lord Zeras in the second century AD. It is her failure to keep Gerosha police from finding these in her backpack that gets her arrested in Ciem: Inferno, as they initially mistake her devices for bomb equipment during a state of emergency - when all teens not obeying curfew are assumed to be members of the Pyro Panther gang. She is able to hold wardrobes inside wardrobes up to three layers down, even having a special hair pin "Z-Ward" that she is able to hide from most detection by wearing it near the back of her neck beneath a few layers of hair. She only utilizes this in situations where her normal Zeran wardrobes would be impractical to utilize, such as when captured. Zeran wardrobes' main function is to allow her to have a Ciem costume ready to go whenever she needs it in a moment's notice, in spite not being able to get away with wearing one all the time everywhere underneath her civilian clothes. * Zeran teleporters: Battery-powered devices that allow her to move from one place to another quickly, though her small-size models are very short-range. She can transport about two football fields tops in distance, though she usually teleports shorter distances to preserve battery life. Combined with roof-hopping, she uses Zeran teleporters to get around town when nobody is able to fly her across. * Night vision eyepieces: Some variants of her mask also allow for a switch that activates night vision in her eyepieces, letting her see the world around her better at night. Otherwise, her mask eyepiece lenses are made of a material that contains dichroic filtration; which allows her to see in full color while those viewing her mask will see into the mask with a thick green tint. * Remotach pills: A Marlquaan-bound drug developed by a scientist with help from the Phaelites. Imaki made sure to supply Candi with plenty of these, in the event of capture. With Remotach, she is able to reattach severed limbs - including her own head - while remote-controlling her severed body parts. Remotach also helps prevent excessive blood loss. The preserved pill takes 50 years to expire. Once consumed, it takes a half hour to work at full efficiency. It stays functional in the body an additional 3 hours if nothing happens. If someone loses a body part, such as being beheaded, there is a half-hour period in which the drug will remain effective. If the individual does not reattach their missing body parts within that window, lifelong dismemberment or death may occur. If the individual does reattach, then the drug will quickly fade in effectiveness. Another pill will be needed to avoid further risk of death via dismemberment. Her first time using this was also the time a Hebbleskin mole in SCALLOP injected Bezeetol in her for testing her centuition reflexes. She was able to reattach her own head, proving the drug worked. The mole was quickly dealt with. She has made a habit of taking Remotach before going into any battle in which risk of dismemberment or decapitation is highly likely ever since, though it has only proven necessary on three occasions since. While she was under Bezeetol influence when captured in South Bend along with Dolly, she didn't have any. Which is why she feared she would die in South Bend if the electrical power failure hadn't happened seconds before Affadidah's men were to carry out her execution. Weaknesses * Bezeetol: Candi is susceptible to the drug Bezeetol. In this version, it is a special sedative manufactured specifically to dampen the powers of Phexos and render them dizzy and confused. It is short-lived in its effects, but will tranquilize her if she is shot with it successfully. * Pregnancy / birth control: Like with every version since Despair Candi, Cataclysmic Candi is particularly susceptible to her powers being dampened if she gets pregnant. This becomes a source of internal conflict for her, as she looks forward to having children. Due to how most birth control pills work, this means that she cannot be on birth control either. * MPF containment: Since the Marlquaan is indirectly responsible for how Phexos are able to get their abilities, she is also susceptible to being trapped in MPF fields. However, Emwaults are more directly tied to the Marlquaan. This means that Donte is even more susceptible to imprisonment. Any Marlquaanite she meets, however, is going to have a direct bond, and be the most susceptible. This means that her non-Phexo and non-Marlquaanite friends are essential teammates in reducing her likelihood of capture. * Distraction: Candi's personal conflict between her faith-related beliefs and her past rape trauma have left her vulnerable to troubling thoughts. This can be exploited by reminding her of her conflicting desires between the woman of character she wants to be, and the desire to erase her trauma with positive memories and a family; to bring her out of a moment or tempt her to make poor decisions. * Cannot climb walls: Despite being merged with lithobius forficatus, which can climb walls; Ciem does not natively have this ability. At the expense of using up her Zeran teleporter batteries too soon, she must rely on Zeran teleportation to compensate for what she lacks in wallcrawling. When out on missions with Emeraldon, she relies on his powers of flight to save battery power, and to leap more than one story of a building at a time. Character bio Early life Candi was born as one of three fraternal triplets to Stan and Shalia Flippo on September 9th, 1999. She was the only Filippo child in whom the Centhuen Prototype mutation via Stan became active. Her two sisters, Miriam and Marina, would develop other talents. Miriam became talented at hacking, while Marina took on musical interests. Candi had lived for much of her early life going back and forth between being exposed to various environmental factors and being sheltered from them. She was aware early on of her mutation, and her implied calling in life; but always had mixed feelings about it. Her powers did not fully manifest in this version until the age of 12. While she was trained from early on how to engage in superheroics by her godfather Imaki, her parents and older siblings advised against her going on real missions while still a small child. She was content to behave as a ordinary child for much of that early life, and even enjoyed being involved in the same church as her family. Her world was turned inwards in October of 2006, when her parents were run off the road by Hebbleskin Gang associates. One of the assassins involved was Gunner Soorfelt, who would later become a foot soldier for Duke Arfaas along with his younger brother Skellig. Candi's older sister Erin gained custody of her sisters Miriam and Marina. Candi herself was put in joint custody between Erin and Imaki. Erin got in with a bizarre crowd at college, leading her to become very strict about her younger sisters' dating habits. A chemical imbalance started forming in her brain, leading to the gradual deterioration of her mental health. Since Reily was busy with his wife Ashlee and son Kirby touring the world as celebrity chefs, he felt little connection to his biological sisters. While he initially was the one who would have gained custody in the event of a tragedy, he reneged on that promise after Stan and Shalia's deaths. The fact that they were technically young enough to be his daughters made meetings even more awkward, leading to him generally ignoring all his sisters. His luxurious lifestyle also conflicted with the family model of living beneath one's means, resulting in him being ostracized by Erin. Given that Erin was unable to provide the emotional support and stability that Candi needed, she often looked up to her Japanese inventor and Phaelite-friendly godfather as a surrogate father. However, Imaki was often distracted by his own personal crusades. Middle school Main article: Candi's middle school years Candi spent much of her middle school life as an ordinary student, though she did have some issues with a few of her classmates. Candi's school was one of many schools to try out Common Core - with disastrous results. The new teachers were not only hard on Candi for her traditional views, but were actually encouraging the corruption of youth they were charged with. Angry parents' concerns over their children going from caring about their future and how to support themselves to caring only about sex fell on deaf ears. When one father threatened to pull his daughter out because the school refused to protect her from being bullied by lesbians; he was thrown in jail and accused of threatening the lesbians that were threatening his daughter for real. Candi found that the more politically-correct the school's subculture became, the more hostile the school's environment became for all students - not just her. At some point, Candi was supplied with a lifetime supply of Remotach pills, after Imaki copies the formula for it and begins to mass-produce it to help those in Hebbleskin-affected areas beneath SCALLOP's suspicion. Candi herself was the guinea pig for whether or not it worked, when a SCALLOP recruit wanting to impress Darius got carried away during an experiment and decapitated the 12-year-old Candi while she was using the miracle pill. Candi was seemingly miraculously able to control her body without her head attached, and was even able to re-attach her head. She was traumatized significantly by the event, and Imaki insisted Darius withhold further such experiments on her. Darius instead began administering tests of the substance to condemned female criminals, and had his scientists record what they discovered regarding those test subjects. Trying to resume a normal life in her hometown, Candi began a (non-sexual) dating relationship with a certain Don Mendoza in sixth grade, in spite of Erin's wishes to the contrary. However, Don's falling away from his family faith after the death of his mother led to him teaming up with some of the bullies at school in a plot to rape Candi - and then sell her out to the Hebbleskins. Candi was able to fight off Don, and manifested the majority of her centipede abilities from the rape trauma. Don fled, vowing revenge. Candi also had to deal with the bullies snapping inappropriate photos of her, though she was thwarted from saying or doing anything that would have any real positive effect. An effort to report them to the principal got her suspended, with only her pastor and Imaki to offer her any comfort. She wanted more than anything to tell Erin what was happening, but others insisted Erin wouldn't be able to handle the truth. This caused Candi to internalize her feelings of shame, until she was nearly entirely consumed by them. Candi's struggle got worse when the Hebbleskins murdered her town minister, leaving Imaki as the only one offering her any worship reinforcement or spiritual guidance. She vowed to one day wipe out the Hebbleskins and Icy Finger, restore integrity to the Marlquaan, destroy the FFRF and similar organizations, return God to America, and create a world where families wanting to raise children for the Eternal Kingdom could do so without having to live in constant war and harassment. At the same time, an insatiable craving for sexual validation grew inside her, directly conflicting with her knowledge of religious facts - and her beliefs based thereupon. It would become a struggle for her for many years to reconcile her conflicting moral priorities, conflicting ambitions, and conflicting senses of dedication; nearly driving her mad. Miriam and Marina would find themselves in similar moral quandaries, leading to dozens of questionable choices as they grew up. High school Main article: Candi's high school history The endless harassment and hostile environment at Gerosha High School continued to create problems for Candi and her sisters. Marina would often find herself constantly taken advantage of by boys at school, though she develops a love for indie music and attempts to join a band to keep herself from feeding the urge to sleep around. Miriam joins a band of online vigilantes called the Critter Resistance Network, each of them codenamed after forest animals, so that she can fight the baddies that Candi can't touch. Candi and Miriam form a special bond as vigilante counter-terror experts working in secret, but as sisters as well. Imaki assists them in covering their tracks on this, in spite the fact that Erin has almost full custody of Miriam and Marina, not Candi. The signing of the Kirby Act in early 2015 makes Candi's job of fighting off Hebbleskin monsters threatening Gerosha a little bit harder, as she now has to make sure she isn't seen doing anything that the far-reaching legislation could get her in trouble over. Simply being a Phexo puts her on a watchlist, per the legislation and orders of her half-brother Darius. Imaki warns her that while the good fight must continue, she must always prepare for the possibility of being arrested at any time for any reason. He similarly warns Miriam and Marina that in spite not having manifested the centipede powers for themselves, they too are at risk of frivolous internment. The pentet of Imaki, Erin, Candi, Miriam, and Marina working as an underground-church-going family and a team of vigilantes became most strained in 2015. Marina, no longer able to hold back her budding sexuality, started making trouble for herself at school with some of her antics. This led to Candi and Miriam having to cover for her - all while struggling with their own unholy excess of cravings, fantasies, and schemes. This began to affect Candi directly, when she was required to sleep with classmate Tyrone Menster in order to cover for Marina. Candi realized quickly that trying to turn things around and date Tyrone to make things closer to being right was not possible; yet she was repulsed with herself for having a one-night stand at only 15. Her self-esteem began taking a nosedive. Later that same year, Candi began dating Danny Loffin - who helped her regain a sense of respect for herself. However, while the two of them did have genuine love for each other - and a keen spiritual awareness - they were ultimately unable to stop themselves from becoming sexually active. Danny's mother was the first to find out, but she decided not to inform anyone. Feeling horrible about sneaking around, Candi found she was unable to come clean and stop herself. Imaki eventually began to suspect, and warned Candi of how her soul was in danger from this - and how it could complicate her life. She told herself she needed to get better at self-control, and even discussed it with Danny. However, the two were still unable to stop. An incident in Japan involving Charlotte Yamamura - Imaki's other goddaughter - required him to make a trip to Japan to assist her. This left Candi vulnerable, especially with Erin also out of town. Having just foiled the hostage taking of a convention center by the Icy Finger, Candi learns that they've joined forces with Halal Affadidah and the Hebbleskins to do some serious harm across the United States. She fills in when Emeraldon is out of town, and he gives her alter ego a name to the media: Ciem. Candi, Miriam, and Danny try to take on the new Hebbleskin-affiliated threats to Gerosha their own way: the Pyro Panthers. However, the Hebbleskins get Gleeful-N'-Young involved; and also donate to the Pyro Panther Gang a monster named Lava Tigre. Just then, the Purge-Flare also enters town, with a personal quest to take out Gleeful-N'-Young's Frank Morvel. The heroes initially have the upper-hand. However, a state of emergency curfew is declared. Miriam gets distracted by business with her friends in the Critter Resistance Network, and fails to inform Candi and Danny. The couple, still sorting out their issues, head over to Danny's house. Knowing no one else is home, they study for a bit and then proceed to have sex. The Panthers attack the neighborhood, setting the Loffin residence on fire as well to get back at Danny's older brother Roger for getting in their way a few days prior. Candi and Danny escape the fire. However, they go separate directions so that Candi can find a place to change into Ciem. Her plan is thwarted when her path is intercepted by panicked Gerosha police. Initially mistaken for a Pyro Panther herself, Candi is forced to betray her identity - and the existence of Zeran tech - to local authorities to prove them wrong. She soon realizes this as a huge mistake, as revealing such information is a felony for her under the Kirby Act. Confused police arrest her anyway, stating that she is at least guaranteed to be found guilty of curfew violation. Yet, the Gerosha police station is ruled unfit for duty. Candi is instead escorted out of town, to be booked in Vanderburgh County. After saving her arresting officers from the villain Drop-In, Candi once again surrenders to them. They're astonished that she wouldn't take advantage of a chance to escape; but they escort her to jail regardless. Juvenile detention See also: Ciem: Inferno, Ciem: Ash Cloud After two days at Vanderburgh County Jail, Candi is sent to juvenile court in Evansville. Judge Richard Deckinson is given her case file, and she is assigned James Lonsil of Lonsil & Tiver as a public defender. She is sent for 8 days to Madison Juvenile Correctional, to wait to stand trial for the arson charge. She discovers that security guard Lonny Factor is secretly Drop-In, and saves herself and the prison from him after gaining the assistance of rival-turned-ally Amirah "Flintirah" Rose. She endears herself to almost everyone at the facility, including superintendent Bruce Almin. She convinces Amirah to let SCALLOP take up her case, even if it means she is transferred down to Houston. She uses her time out to find a way to break into Gerosha. Candi returns as Ciem in time to assist Miriam and the Purge-Flare in taking down Frank Morvel and Lava Tigre, enabling massive Pyro Panther arrests and saving dozens of children from being sold into a Gleeful-N'-Young brothel. However, Candi's heroics were not enough to convince Darius to drop charges against her due to her admitting to Gerosha police that she had Zeran tech in her backpack. She agreed to serve 2 years in prison, in exchange for keeping her indiscretions with Danny a secret and keeping the media from exposing her Ciem identity. Nearly additionally charged for aiding the Purge-Flare, Candi is spared when Miriam turns herself in for that. Candi discovers while incarcerated that she is pregnant, but Danny has since moved on with his life. She is heartbroken when she miscarries. She names the child "Angie", and needs quite a bit of time to recuperate from her loss. Imaki is notified, but not Erin. Several months later, Candi is furloughed so she can rescue Bruce and save Cincinnati from Eric Korsicht's reign of terror. She is able to pull this off with help from a new suit Imaki gives her, as well as assistance from the Gray Champion, Mapacha, and Flintirah. She is furloughed again a summer later to deal with a threat happening to the Exodus Agenda by the menace Quoll. She gains a new boyfriend during her brief time out of prison: Remy Vernwick. However, he sacrifices himself assisting her in taking down Quoll. She is able to kill the menace and avenge Remy, but is not charged in his death. Life after juvie Candi gets out of Madison in January of 2018, and moves in with her new foster mother: Cynthia Trenson. She helps Cynthia look after her daughter Karen, while returning to Gerosha High and trying to avoid drawing too much attention to herself. However, her style of dress enters into a "ghetto phase," as she is unable to completely resume being who she was before she was locked up. She maintains regular contact with Imaki and her relatives, in spite not living with any of them. Feeling bad about breaking Tyrone's camera years earlier, she buys him a new one with money earned from an acrobatic stunts gig. She tries to keep on her path of recovery from sexual addiction, but briefly falls off the wagon while apologizing to Tyrone. Feeling sorry for the sad predicament he is in, she goes so far as to let him make a pornographic home video of the two of them. Since she was over 18 at the time, she tells him she isn't as offended. But that they are not any good for each other. He promises to wait three years before uploading the video anywhere, and Candi severs all ties with Tyrone. She confesses to Cynthia that she had a one-night stand with Tyrone, but wants to do better. She is grounded for a week, and agrees to it. As time goes by, Candi begins to view Cynthia as an adequate substitute mother. However, that arrangement is brought to a dramatic end when the home is attacked by encroaching Affadidah troops. Candi is unable to save Cynthia, though she does rescue Karen. The child is placed into an Exodus Agenda family home, and Candi is sent back to live with Erin and Imaki. She also learns around this time that her friend Amirah died on a mission. Rise of Ameristan As Affadidah's sweeps take hold, his new "Ameristan" takes over 1/4 of the United States. Modifications to the law are swift, and the culture begins to erode rapidly to make way for a new caliphate. Fearing what Affadidah might be up to, with rumors of a 1-gigaton nuclear bomb, China invades the west coast and colonizes it. Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana become "Toklisana," and the Flippos register as Toklisanans so they can gradually abandon Gerosha to Affadidah. Candi goes several more months reconnecting spiritually, and staying sexually sober - in spite still dressing in ghetto outfits and having low self-esteem. However, things get worse for her family when Marina is discovered to be pregnant. She agrees to marry the father, Matthew Baret. However, the ugly truth of it all results in Erin's less-than-understanding nature getting the best of her. Candi attempts to stay out of it all, not yet ready to admit to her sexual sins. Marina is forced to lay her secrets bare in shame, as Erin continues to tie into her. Angry with Erin's excessive cruelty toward Marina, Miriam confesses to her own affair with the Purge-Flare, and to currently dating Phil Couric. Erin kicks both girls out of the house, leaving Candi as the only one left. The sisters vow to keep touch, especially Candi and Miriam. Marina is able to live with Candi and Imaki until Marina and Matt finalize their marriage. They are then given safe passage by the regime to flee to Toklisana and start their lives over. Miriam, however, rebels; and she moves in with Phil and his family. Shortly afterward, however, Affadidah reneges on his promises to let registered Toklisanans leave his country safely. He erects "the Wall" with help from the Hebbleskins, using technology reverse-engineered from their Gerosha domes. This effectively traps most Toklisanans inside of Ameristan, imprisoning them behind enemy lines. Imaki realizes the Exodus Agenda has to be moved up in seriousness of operation. Ameristan becomes a prison state The Exodus Agenda's worst fears are realized when Affadidah and Arfaas perfect "The Wall" around the outskirts of Ameristan - trapping everyone inside that the regime has decided should no longer be allowed to leave. It's confirmed that SCALLOP personnel made it out - but they are unable to get back in. A move made on the Courics by the regime results in them having to flee to Illinois to avoid being slaughtered. Miriam is unable to get her hands on some of the comm system equipment that Imaki and his peers have scraped together, thus cutting off Candi and Miriam from each other. Imaki warns Candi and Donte not to get too hasty about finding Miriam, as the enemy now has MPF generators. They must be careful not to draw too much attention to themselves. Donte admits to Candi that he cannot possibly fathom what losing Miriam must be like for Candi. Candi assures him that if he ever lost her, he'd know how it felt. To keep them occupied, Imaki assigns them on missions to look for backup hackers who can disable the Wall - in case they can't find Miriam. He also informs the couple that someone of interest - a certain Jeraime Malestrom from Malestrom Industries - was captured by the Hebbleskins according to intel. He was working on a "Project: Musaran" for SCALLOP that could enable a man to kill most Phexos efficiently. He had also entrusted his "Earwig" project to Darius for safekeeping, until he had found the perfect woman to don the suit. Rumor had it that he not only found her, but that he and that woman got along to the point that he married her. If so, finding the missing "Dolly" Malestrom would be a top priority if they wished to know more about what the Hebbleskins wanted with Jeraime. Donte was sent on a side quest to knock out the power at many of the death camps that the regime was setting up, while freeing as many prisoners as he could. He was given advice on how to avoid MPF generators. Candi was sent to Evansville to search for Dolly. ''Instigation'' Main article: Sodality: Instigation By this point in the timeline, it is early September of 2019. Candi is approaching her 20th birthday. However, she and Donte have had to go in different directions to fulfill their missions. Imaki runs comms for both of them. They know that Dolly went missing only a few days ago. Candi is ambushed by Hebbleskin raiders near the site of what was believed to be Jeraime and Dolly's home in the remains of Evansville. Injected with enough Bezeetol to knock her unconscious, Candi passes out for a lengthy period of time. The Hebbleskins agree to hand her over to the regime - but only if they will deliver her head to Duke Arfaas when they are done with her. The regime take her away to a death camp in South Bend, where they hold her prisoner in a cell next to Dolly. The two girls are regularly drugged and gassed with Bezeetol, to keep them from regaining their full strength. Candi discovers that over the course of their stay, Dolly has been raped a grand total of 15 times by the regime - once by Affadidah himself, even. The two are led to a room along with a young woman named Yamanik, who is beheaded in front of them on a block clearly already soaked in the blood of numerous other victims. The girls see a ditch not far from the execution site, filled with corpses of other women. Seconds before Candi and Dolly are to be executed, the power goes out and the lights in the execution room grow dim. They don't realize that this is due to Donte having tampered with the power grid in South Bend - while he is also unaware of which death camp Candi is in. With her strength returning from being away from the drugs just long enough, Candi uses the distraction to get herself out of the way of her executioner's ax. She begins fighting back, and the two executioners begin ignoring Dolly so they can attempt to subdue Candi. She uses her centuition to get the best of them in the darkness. His emotions getting the best of him, Donte lucks out and destroys the South Bend facility's only MPF generator before it can be used on him. He proceeds to go on a rampage in the facility, tearing it apart and caring more about killing regime staff than about saving prisoners. The girls, unaware Donte is behind all the chaos, flee naked into the night. Candi ambushes some regime soldiers that have taken for themselves supplies stolen from a war-destroyed pharmacy. She uses the supplies taken from the soldiers she kills to treat Dolly's various medical needs. After informing Dolly of the Exodus Agenda and Dolly explaining Project: Musaran and Project: Earwig back to Candi; the girls resolve to travel back to Evansville by any means necessary to find whatever treasure it is that the Hebbleskins failed to recover from the house they destroyed. Dolly shows concern at first about how much stealing and killing they may have to do. Candi reminds Dolly that they're at war, and that they're both already criminals anyway. The two of them find themselves on several adventures as they journey to Evansville, often stealing from dilapidated and abandoned farms. They become quite adept at stealing cars too, but are quick to abandon them when the regime grows suspicious. They begin arming themselves with regime weaponry as well. However, one evening hiding at an abandoned farm property leads them to an encounter with Jawknee. In spite their best efforts, Jawknee's control over bird life makes her too powerful for the girls to defeat on their own. They eventually trick Jawknee and regime soldiers into fighting each other, and use that as a diversion to escape. A frustrated Dolly returns home, only to find that the only treasure that didn't get found was the Gerosha Stone. She warns Candi that if the Hebbleskins reprogram the Musaran suit AI, it could imprison Jeraime inside and turn him into a terrible threat to the Exodus Agenda. The girls further find papers left behind by the Hebbleskins that captured Candi originally, detailing that Don the Psycho had been sent to terrorize pro-Phexo Toklisanans in the Houston area. Of note was a particular Leaper Phexo Apache that seemed to blame Don for the disappearance of his girlfriend, and was involved in a constant game of cat-and-mouse with Don. Suspecting a trap, the girls flee the Evansville area and make their way back toward Gerosha. They discover that Affadidah has started punishing his lesser-favored troops by injecting them with a mixture of krokodil and other drugs to take away their inhibitions and their humanity, while making them look more like zombies to terrify their victims. A horrified Dolly remarks: "Because we absolutely needed a zombie apocalypse on top of it all!" When their efforts to save a handful of small children from a makeshift slaughterhouse set up by the regime backfires, Candi is able to get control of a radio long enough to send out a distress signal to Imaki. Imaki informs Donte of the location, and he flies straight there in his Emeraldon suit. He easily dispatches of the regime troops, and escorts as many children to safety as possible. He then returns with the girls to Imaki's main bunker. Dolly is put into the hands of various Exodus Agenda members, who need her to debrief them on events. Candi and Donte seize the opportunity of being alone together for the first time in almost two weeks to rekindle their "marriage." However, they are awakened the following day to the realization that the regime is dangerously close to guessing the location of Imaki's bunker. They also discover a row of innocents being lined up for a guillotine by regime troops. Candi provides a diversion while Donte rescues the prisoners, and Donte then rescues Candi before the regime can place her in the guillotine. Candi is finally reunited with Donte, Imaki, and Dolly some time later, when reinforcements arrive to chase away regime guards. Imaki reminds his new pupils of the "Sodality Church" that he has been trying to create with the help of Rev. Wilbur Brocklyn, who is already in Houston awaiting everyone's arrival. Candi resolves that one of her goals must be to join Wilbur's church, and to start turning her life around from the various poor decisions she and her friends have made before. Candi and her friends spend the remainder of the Instigation arc mostly on scavenger hunts or rescue missions. When the Exodus Agenda does finally get to move, however, she begins using her Ciem costumes more while Donte uses his Emeraldon costumes more. The two help with escorting Exodus Agenda members to the Wall to stage their plans. They manage to get past the Wall with the aid of a sudden hack from far away, which Candi deduces to mean that Miriam has somehow found a way - and learned of the events unfolding. Battling their way free of Ameristan proves to be only a part of the battle, however. The Exodus Agenda find themselves in a narrow passageway that separates Toklisana, Ameristan, and Netheel. The Hebbleskins are quickly alerted to the breach in Affadidah's wall, and descend upon the Exodus Agenda with extreme prejudice. Imaki intercepts a transmission concerning plans for himself and his pupils regarding what should be done with each of them in the event of being captured. The best efforts of Candi and her friends prove to be in vain, however. Imaki is shot dead while racing for the border into Toklisana. Donte gets captured by an MPF generator set to an especially high setting. Candi and Dolly manage to avoid this fate, but Candi warns Dolly to take some Remotach with her before attempting to approach the border. Near-death by beheading near Texas border They get cut off from the other Exodus members, and are soon discovered by some Toklisanan border patrol. The girls attempt to explain their situation to the border patrol agents, but learn too late that the agents are really Hebbleskin spies. They are gassed with Bezeetol and then injected with it, making them unable to fight back. The girls are quickly hauled away into a back room, with the double agents unaware that the Navyrope Society is rushing in and is on to them. Candi and Dolly are quickly stripped naked and set before chopping blocks. Candi prays that the Remotach will work for both herself and Dolly. The ax cuts through her neck quickly and cleanly, leaving her surprised to still be alive to process what is happening to her. She ends the season staring up through her basket to see an ax blade come down on Dolly, feeling weak and helpless in spite the Remotach keeping her alive. In spite the Remotach doing its job, she still suffers some blood loss, allowing her to control her body remotely just enough to fake her own death, as her distracted captors grab her legs and tie her body to a rack upside-down. She knows if she can't reattach herself in half an hour, her death will be permanent - but all seems hopeless. She bigins reflecting on her life - and her greatest regrets - as she braces herself for dying. ''Adaptation'' Main article: Sodality: Adaptation Candi and Dolly are loaded into the back of a van, their bodies being strung-up upside-down on racks and their heads still in baskets just out of reach. Their captors deduce that the girls were using Remotach, and taunt them that they are simply delaying the inevitability of death. The captors don't get far in their van before Navyrope intercepts them. The fight ends quickly, with Navyrope viciously slaughtering both of the Hebbleskin spies. He removes Candi and Dolly's bodies from the rack, and lets them reattach their own heads before the Remotach can wear off. He transports them to a secret Navyrope Society underground bunker to receive medical attention, and is astonished by their rates of recovery from what should have been fatal wounds. Candi even gives Dolly a transfusion once she is able to verify that their blood types are compatible, which accelerates Dolly's rate of healing. The two girls are sent to Austin to be properly initiated into Toklisanan society. Candi is allowed to change her last name to "Levens," but not to "McArthur." Dolly is informed that she must use her maiden name of Weiss until she can recover Jeraime and take his name properly in a Toklisanan wedding. The two girls vow to work together to bring down the Hebbleskins and strive to get their husbands back - or avenge them. Navyrope briefs them on what plans he has intercepted recently regarding the Hebbleskins' agenda for Texas. He also informs them of the Legends that are scattered about Toklisana: himself, Gray Champion, Extirpon, Pilltar, Mapacha, and Strawberry. Navyrope then leaves Candi and Dolly, and encourages them to collect Candi's fortune right away. Candi collects her share of her parents' fortune by cashing in her bond check, which Imaki held on to. This suddenly makes her $3,000,000 richer, though she vows to adhere to her family's motto of "Always live beneath your means." She and Dolly quickly find Wilbur and connect with him. He offers the girls counseling and assists them in setting up shop for the greater "Sodality of Gerosha" dream he had planned. He doesn't inform them right away, however, that Jack "the Jackrabbit" Mercreek is part of that same operation. He also fails to inform them that Kyle "the Meerkat" Freneti and Charlotte "Mukade" Yamamura are remote operatives already - based in Louisiana. The girls get established fairly quickly at the University of Houston. Candi is informed that she may have to eventually transfer to a school in Waco if she wishes to complete her degree in crime scene profiling. As Ciem, she begins rounding up small-time criminals rather quickly. Dolly's manning of the comms greatly assists. However, her civilian identity is mistaken for the drug smuggler Julia "La Scarabachonda" Milagro by local Houston police one day on her way to class. Refusing to believe her at first (or even check her ID,) Officer Lonny Grivolt has Candi arrested in the parking lot behind her dorm. She is able to prove her identity rather quickly at the police station, though they threaten to detain her on suspicions of using multiple identities. She seizes an opportunity to get away to slip into her Ciem costume. As Ciem, she helps bust the real Scarabachonda following a brief battle with the villain and her drug cartel. Lonny Grivolt continues to harass Candi even after she proves that she isn't Julia, however. * Discuss: ** Wayne the Vampire and Dolly saving Celia ** First sighting of Don the Psycho ** Rockpapsci ** First battle as Ciem with Don the Psycho, and meeting Jackrabbit ** Jackrabbit's friend is killed by Don ** Jackrabbit and Team Ciem join forces: the first Sodality ** Candi saves Laurie Pegol's life: fill-in comms operator for Miranda ** Dolly discovers truth about Earwig outfit location ** Phaletori attacks ** Cupric wreaks havoc ** Meerkat and Mukade help apprehend Cupric ** Botan the Plant-Man arrives ** Rescuing Emily: New scientist for team, and Team Botan officially joins Sodality ** Learning about Beliah threat ** Learning about True Centhuen army, and brief battle with some of them. ** Conflicted romantic feelings in Candi of Donte vs. Jack ** Learning of Musaran ** Candi arrested by Lonny again ** Trip to Mexico: Meeting Cocklebur and Feruga *** Lobe arrives in town and wreaks havoc. Nuke detonated by Ameristani terrorists. Lobe escapes. Others find shelter. ** Feruga trains in secret, with Candi teaching her every now and then how to be a backup Ciem. ** Candi gets embarrassing side job. *** Affair with Warren Bozil ** Lobe attacks Amarillo along with Don the Psycho. ** Don defeated. Candi and girls return to Houston; Jack and Jeral stay behind to stop Lobe. ** Darius betrays the girls, framing them from trying to "steal" the Earwig armor. ** Candi arrested, along with friends, for theft conspiracy. ** Trial: Acquitted ** Anders tries to kill Candi, but she escapes. ** Battle with Musaran to save friends ** 2-week special for collateral damage from fight with Musaran, plus kept as a political prisoner by Darius for refusing to keep quiet about Oisdaat raping Celia. *** Visited by Marina, Michelle, and other Sodality members. ** Encourages Celia to train to defend herself, not realizing how much Celia would take it to heart. ** Meerkat and Mukade learn of Miranda's location, relay to Jack and Candi. ** Darius assassinated by Milp. ** Mukade and Meerkat help Sodality defeat Milp. ** Lex lets Candi and Dolly out on probation. ** Candi and Jack intercept transmission (which proves false), fail to locate Donte and Miranda's MPF chambers. ** Candi and Jack elect to end their emotional affair. ** Phaletori release Centhuen Warriors on Austin. ** Sodality counter-offensive on Centhuen Warriors interrupted by Hebbleskin raid on Houston; agents of SCALLOP take over in Austin to keep Centhuens at bay. ** Candi and Dolly smuggle themselves aboard Arfaas' doomsday ship to rescue Donte, wind up releasing Sapphire King too. ** Dolly explains situation to Donte and Jordan while Candi battles Musaran in the streets. ** Sodality Elites eventually all unite to stop Hebbleskin invasion; Hebbleskin forces pull back after doomsday ship and several troops destroyed. ''Determination'' Main article: Sodality: Determination ''Augmentation'' Main article: Sodality: Augmentation ''Battle for Metheel'' Main article: Sodality: Battle for Metheel ''Vindication'' Main article: Sodality: Instigation ''Centipede + 49'' Main article: Sodality: Instigation Personality Similar to other versions of the character, this Candi is cautious, reserved, and beta-dominant. She is a little cocky and snarky in Ciem: Inferno, having learned bad habits from Miriam and at school. However, her compassion for Amirah humbles her significantly. Like with Comprehensive Candi, this one can be viscous if cornered and cruel if her friends and family are harmed. However, she prefers stealth, and subduing her enemies, to the more ruthless tactics of Dolly and her Earwig suit. Candi is a hopeless romantic, and dreams of a family with Donte quite often. She is very protective of her sisters, and feels frustrated when they end up in situations where she can do nothing for them. Cataclysmic Candi is more determined to see a job through to the end than her predecessors. She is tempted to abandon faith in Donte when she believes him dead, like with previous versions. However, she is hesitant to let herself and Jack Mercreek couple off completely, in fear that Donte might still be alive. She caves in to the pressure to sleep with Jack a grand total of three times, but calls off the affair after learning that Donte is alive. She resolves to rescue him instead, proving that she feels remorse for her indiscretions and wants to be Donte's faithful wife. This is a slight difference from her previous incarnation, who at one point used Donte and Jack as her friends with benefits before finally agreeing to date Donte officially again, ending things with Jack. This Candi is somewhat clingy, but has never been as obnoxious about it as other versions. This Candi is more pragmatic, and can maintain her focus longer. She keeps to her small circle of friends, much like the other incarnations, not socializing much beyond that circle. She has self-confidence issues like the others, but is more composed overall in spite of them. She takes her godfather's advice very seriously, especially since he is one of the few father figures she has left when Stan is murdered. She is determined that, with Donte's help, her children will have a more stable environment to grow up in than what she had - and will make better romantic choices. This Candi is also very bothered by her criminal record, yet she feels that there is little she can do about it; since the incidents leading to her being accused of more and more offenses are usually beyond her control. In spite this, she rarely ever resists arrest, and relies on her SCALLOP friends to find her suitable lawyers to either get her out of legal trouble or reduce her sentences to the bare minimum. She values her family perhaps more than any other member of the Sodality, which is a feat given that most of them are very family-centered. Development Character version mask and springing into action. Candi portrayed by Denise "Xoxbabii-Nisee" from DeviantArt. Original photo here.]] Personal character After the elections in 2012, the Dozerfleet founder deemed a second Obama term as likely to destroy the US. The Ciem novel trilogy in Comprehensive Gerosha was deemed unlikely to happen in such a world, so Candi's entire timeline history was scrapped. Vigilante Centipede and its two planned sequel novels were relegated to the Canceled projects bin. It was decided that a new series would have to be pursued, one which re-imagined almost all the Gerosha characters whose lives are relevant to the years 2018 and beyond in an alternate history cautionary tale. Watchmen undertones would be inevitable. The template for Cataclysmic Candi was Comprehensive Candi, but a lot of the themes from that version were either toned down significantly or removed entirely. A lot of this was for practical reasons, as Comprehensive Candi's emphasis on her personal life often overshadowed the plot rather than serving it. Another justification for simplifying components of Candi's life and personality came from the fact that a lot of time had passed since 90 Has No Secant was written. Working that old narrative into the new one would have produced numerous complications with continuity, so it was decided to make the Meshalutian Trilogy no longer canon. Without the Curse of Honeybee Samuel, Candi's struggles with self-control no longer had as much of a supernatural foundation. Therefore, her romantic life becomes a subplot in the series; rather than taking center stage like it did in previous versions. Her commitment to Donte is a little stronger, though she does still stray a little when she believes him dead. Inspirations behind character and teammates While still something of a main character for the first three seasons of Sodality, Candi is able to fade away from center stage by the fourth. She and her teammates are also dealt with like an ensemble. Therefore, other characters' backstories and personalities have a chance to be as relevant to the plot as her own. Candi was seen, in the Watchmen parallel, as being an analog of Spider-Girl. One major difference is that she's a centipede-themed character, worked to fit this specific narrative. This is viewed as being similar to how Rorschach was inspired by The Question and Mr. A. Likewise, her teammate Jeral Cormier is most similar to the Ultimate Marvel version of Samuel Smithers. Donte's Emeraldon identity was similarly revised for this continuity. He is shorter, ages slower, and has a Peter Pan-style method of flight as opposed to his jet-like flight in previous versions. His appearance is modeled after that of Marvel's Meteor Man, though some have stated he looks a little like a Green Lantern. The Earwig suit is a typical powered armor, with the only downside being that the AI inside it that is supposed to enhance the wearer's knowledge of how to fight is a little psychotic. Dolly's struggle at first is figuring out how to operate the suit with the AI turned off, as it is even more bloodthirsty than she is. Her suit's bloodlust is inspired by O'Malley from Red vs. Blue. Her reckless demeanor without the AI makes her more similar to Tex from that same series. Jackrabbit's ability to leap and run is most similar to the original power set of Toad from X-Men, before that character gained a prehensile tongue. Visuals In keeping with a push to make the Gerosha universe look more and more lifelike, Dozerfleet sought out a means to gain visuals for as many characters as possible that were as life-like as possible. The first major success in this was in the reinterpretation of Stung Hornet. Cataclysmic Ciem came next. While the Ciem suit itself has been realistically interpreted with MakeHuman 3D, a variation made with The Sims 3 is used to distinguish the look for this version from its similar design for Comprehensive Gerosha. Candi's out-of-suit appearance in Sims 3 is almost a direct port of the Sim model used for Comprehensive Candi. For purposes of the image on the wiki above, a model was needed. The model and image originally supplied were modified from an original print by British/Indonesian modeling photographer Ardhana Galih Wicaksono, better known on DeviantArt as the artist Maleica. Success with Maleica inspired use of similar images, using his models, to interpret Miriam and Marina. Indonesian model Nanda Soebagio provided the general likeness template for the Flippo triplets, though other models that Ardhana knows have been used. On July 21st of 2013, model/photographer Denise "Xoxbabii-Nisee" at DeviantArt agreed to be featured as Candi or Miriam, if any of her photos proved adequate for those purposes. Implicitly, that also included Marina. On Sunday, February 8th of 2015, DeviantArt model Lee Loo La agreed to let some of her images be modified. She is now considered to be the official face of all three of the Flippo triplets. 3D imaging In keeping with much of the other concept art for Sodality, stereoscopic versions of images were implemented to show Candi's world off in ways that had not been attempted at Dozerfleet before. Other than a few one-off images, almost nothing in Stationery Voyagers had bothered with stepping into the challenge of 3D imaging. None of the previous versions of any Gerosha-related media had attempted stereoscopy either. Much of the push to making use of three dimensions for Sodality visuals, including Candi's concept artwork, were inspired by the success of making Blood Over Water 3D and a 3D music video of "Obama Ain't Got the Touch." Further encouragement came from leaked YouTube videos about the utilization of 3D in the pre-production process of Peter Jackson's version of The Hobbit. Solo adventures On July 29th of 2013, a proposal was madeBulldozerIvan (username). "You write Ciem's next adventure!" (article.) DeviantArt.com. July 29th, 2013. on the Dozerfleet founder's DeviantArt journal which allowed for a contest among DeviantArt users to propose an additional novel/film/video game pitch for Ciem. This would allow the character outside of Centipede + 49 to once again feature in a solo performance without her Sodality teammates. This is the first time in the history of Dozerfleet Comics that a major character's potential expanded media was officially crowdsourced. The idea was later reworked as a possible entry for an Earwig story. In October of 2015, Candi got Ciem: Inferno as a solo adventure pre-''Sodality'' timeline, to show what she was capable of outside of the Sodality and to bridge the gap a little between Sodality and The Battle for Gerosha. However, Miriam's antics had a tendency to steal the spotlight, leading to a follow-up titled Sniperbadger: Fall of the Critter Resitance as a sequel to showcase Miriam's life as Sniperbadger and give Miriam a pre-''Sodaity'' adventure. The Flippo Sister Trilogy was completed with the addition in 2016 of Ciem: Ash Cloud. References Notes † Ironically, the intended Gerosha counterparts to Black Widow are Becky Ryba and Stung Hornet. See also * Candi's rap sheet * ''Sodality'' (series) * Ciem: Inferno External links Category: Sodality series characters Category: Flippo family Category: Ciem Category: Beheaded females Category: Dozerfleet superheroes Category: Sodality Elite Category: Gerosha characters with accelerated healing Category: Sodality: Battle for Metheel characters Category: Centipede + 49 characters Category: Incarcerated heroes